India’s garment worker abuse worsens, report says

Category: General

Country: India

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre report finds workplace conditions in Indian garment factories have worsened since 2020 as pandemic pressures weigh on suppliers and workers.

BY RACHEL CERNANSKY | 21 April 2022

Women garment workers in India are facing more abuse in the workplace because of pandemic-era behaviour by global fashion brands, according to a new report from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.

The report, produced in collaboration with other nonprofits including the Asia Floor Wage Alliance and Society for Labour and Development, documents an uptick in fear and abuse among women garment workers since the pandemic began — a direct result, they found, of the increased pressure that suppliers have faced from brands during Covid-19 pandemic.

The research was conducted in India at factories that supply or have supplied to a number of major brands including American Eagle Outfitters, H&M, Levi Strauss & Co. and VF Corporation. The report emphasises that the findings are universal across the industry.

Levi’s says it has a longstanding commitment to creating safe, productive workplaces for workers across its supply chain and that it is following up with its suppliers “to ensure they are following our holistic approach to mitigating gender-based violence”. H&M says gender-based violence is a human rights violation and, acknowledging more work is “indisputably” needed to address gender inequality globally: “H&M Group wants to do our utmost to contribute to positive change in the industry and work together with stakeholders towards that goal.” American Eagle and VF Corporation did not respond to requests for comment.

The report, which is based on testimonies from 90 women garment workers in 31 factories across three of India’s biggest garment-producing regions, is not the first to document either gender-based violence in the fashion industry or the disproportionate impacts of Covid-19 on garment workers in India and elsewhere. In one of the most severe cases, Jeyasre Kathiravel, a 20-year-old Dalit garment worker at an H&M supplier Natchi Apparels in Tamil Nadu, was found dead on 5 January in farmland near her home, according to a Guardian report, allegedly killed by her supervisor after months of sexual harassment and intimidation. H&M launched an investigation, stopped placing orders with the supplier several months ago and says it is committed to working in collaboration to improve conditions for workers and being part of the solution.

“Unchecked systemic violence in the global garment supply chain can lead to really catastrophic events,” says Alysha Khambay, senior researcher and interim head of labour rights at Business & Human Rights Resource Centre and an author of the report. “Jeyasre’s case was not an isolated incident. These incidents are going to happen throughout the supply chain because there’s rampant abuse that happens every day.”

Workplace exploitation is linked directly to brands’ purchasing practices, which are problematic across the entire industry, says Khambay. Suppliers have little leverage for negotiating prices with brands, for example — and have reported a steady decline in what brands are willing to pay, even as brands say they want to work with manufacturers that invest in better practices. They also have no recourse if a brand delays payment or makes last-minute changes to an order. All of this can hit workers' pay because they operate on such thin margins, Khambay says. Some signs of progress are emerging; and the report is explicit that a lack of government regulation and “damaging patriarchal norms” exacerbate women’s vulnerability. Still, there’s a link that cannot be ignored, she adds.

“During the pandemic, we’ve seen in our work a general rollback in labour rights across the garment supply chain. These were hard fought-for rights that took decades to be achieved,” says Khambay. “And, all of the violations that occur disproportionately affect women workers, because this is how the supply chain is structured.”

Abuses have also increased in domestic and even public settings as well, a trend the researchers say is an extension of the “systematic exploitation” by brands and retailers of the suppliers and workers who depend on them for their livelihoods.

“The pandemic created the perfect storm for the abuse,” says Khambay. “Women said they were made to stay at the factory late into the evening to meet the targets set by global fashion brands — which kept [them] away from their household responsibilities, which then led to them experiencing an increase in domestic abuse.”

Women have been forced to work overtime when, for example, suppliers have orders to fill and feel unable to push back on the brands placing them. This can compromise workplace safety if workers feel pressured to cut corners, but could also force them to violate lockdown restrictions, leaving them vulnerable to stops or harassment by the police, or prevent them from being home in time to take care of their usual household duties. Bumps in income to offset those risks are rare.

While brands are not responsible for actions of police in the street or abusive male partners at home, she says they contribute to conditions that are ripe for violence and abuse in places where women are already vulnerable.

“Brands didn't take into account these extra elements, which led to the women who make their clothes experiencing different or heightened forms of gender-based violence and harassment,” she says.

There are some signs of change. A statement from Levi Strauss & Co. describes gender-based violence and harassment as a severe violation of its supplier code of conduct and that it responds “quickly and thoughtfully” whenever it learns of worker and human rights issues. The company has a supplier code of conduct, which includes compensation mandates and contractual terms that seek to protect women from exploitation by managers. Its hiring process includes focusing on representation of women in top management positions, according to the brand.

This month, H&M signed a legally binding agreement — the first of its kind in Asia and only the second in the industry — to end sexual violence and harassment against women workers at one of its key suppliers in India. The Guardian has reported that the agreement will include training for workers and staff on gender-based violence as well as an independent grievance mechanism. Rights activists are encouraged by the fact that it’s legally-binding.

“H&M Group wants to do our utmost to contribute to systemic and positive change in the industry and have therefore signed an agreement to work together with industry stakeholders to address, prevent and remedy gender-based violence and sexual harassment,” the company said in a statement. “We expect this agreement to contribute to a broader industry-wide initiative going forward. Every worker should feel safe working in our industry, whether they are employed by our suppliers or not.”

The mandatory human rights due diligence legislation that’s being developed in the EU, as well as country-level legislation in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Norway and others, could also help.

The report recommends brands conduct effective human rights due diligence for gender-based violence and harassment in collaboration with women workers; transform purchasing practices that create or exacerbate risk factors; and invest in violence prevention and grievance mechanisms at factory level.

Courtesy: https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/indias-garment-worker-abuse-worsens-report-says